this post was submitted on 29 Aug 2025
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Need recommendation for Gmail app for Android that does not suck.... (lemmy.world)
submitted 22 hours ago by mazzilius_marsti@lemmy.world to c/android@lemmy.world
11 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

On Android, you can choose whatever browser or launcher or any apps you want as default. I managed to find good alternatives (e.g. Brave instead of Chrome...etc.) , but email is the one thing I am still struggling with. I use Gmail and have tried the followings:

  • Main Gmail app : it comes preinstalled. I can easily do a search, e.g. search for a starred email from 3 months ago, Gmail app shows immediately. Email format is shitty, some emails' font sizes appear too small. You cant "Mark as Read" from Notification shade.....

  • Fairmail: I appreciate the dev's response. Very customizable. Emails are formatted very well. BUT.... I'm not sure if there are hidden changes recently, but Fairmail tends to go to a "deep sleep" state where I get zero notifications unless I open the app. Other time, it is even worse: I get notifications for emails from 2pm onward, but everything before is not notified unless I open the app. Performing the search function like Gmail above results in very slow and laggy app.

  • Outlook: Their email app is good, but very often, I have ads within my inbox. Emails are formatted very well. In addition, the calendar app can cause conflict:

My phone has its own Calendar app (Google, 3rd party...etc). If I respond "Yes" to a meeting in an email, that creates a meeting within the Outlook app for my Gmail account. Sometimes, this does not sync with the web calendar from Gmail. This means I can literally have 2 Gmail calendar opened (Outlook and phone) and they are mismatched.

  • K9/Thunderbird: Most recent comments from Google Play Store say they are shit. I tried and they load the emails well, format is much better than Gmail app. But we have similar problem as Fairmail above: sometimes the app just doesnt sync unless you open it.

  • Edison/Sparks: I used Spark in its early days. It was great back then. Now? Too much AI bs. Too much. The app sometimes pops a message asking you to subscribe to use AI....

Any recommendation? I just want a normal email app, with none of the paywall and AI bs. Or just use Gmail from the web and forward emails to Proton/Tuta to read on Android?

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[–] electric_nan@lemmy.ml 4 points 13 hours ago

I've been using K9 for over 10 years probably. Never had a problem with gmail.

[–] xmanmonk@lemmy.sdf.org 7 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

Your apps going to sleep seems like a common problem. I thought there was a setting in Android to prevent certain apps from being put to sleep. That might help.

[–] Yaky@slrpnk.net 7 points 21 hours ago

There is the "allow background usage" and "optimize", but also, locking the app on the app switcher is supposed to help it stay alive.

Depends on Android flavor too. OnePlus OxygenOS, for example, does not respect the "do not optimize/sleep" setting, and will not let apps run in the background (or foreground) unless the app is in the invisible whitelist. E.g: WhatsApp is fine, but SimpleX is not.

https://dontkillmyapp.com/

[–] helpImTrappedOnline@lemmy.world 6 points 21 hours ago* (last edited 21 hours ago)

I left spark once the AI crap started being introduced. I also realized how terrible the "single sign on" feature, where you make an account and it saves all your email accounts in it for you.

K9 has worked fine for me for a few years now.

Reviews are from people opposed to any change when Thunderbird took over, which were pretty negligible btw.

With whatever client you pick, check the fetch settings, which for K9 are found when you click on an account in the main settings menu.

K9 doesn't use google play services for push notifications, so it will never be instant. You can have it check every 15 minutes or up to 24hrs depending on how you need to balance battery vs checking. I have mine set to an hour (I think that is the default?)

You should also check the app's battery settings and make sure background usage is enabled or battery saver is off.

[–] ijhoo@lemmy.ml 5 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

Why is Thunderbird bad? I kinda like it. Simple, snappy. Has an annoying freeze when opening an email, but that's about it.

From paid options, maybe Nine?

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ninefolders.hd3

[–] lka1988@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 10 hours ago

I've tried K9 multiple times, as recent as 6 months ago. I want to like it, but almost every time I use it for an extended period of time, it'll occasionally give me a "new email" notification about some random email from last year, even if it's already marked as "read". That email will sit in K9's inbox with the "new" date as if it was always a new email. It drives me nuts.

[–] MicrowavedTea@infosec.pub 3 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

I like proton's app but I don't know if you can use it with a different provider.

Gmail actually has a 'Mark as read' button on the notification now (finally). It's a new addition so it may not have reached you yet.

[–] Yaky@slrpnk.net 3 points 21 hours ago

You cannot use Proton Mail with another provider. And you cannot access Proton Mail from a regular email client (app) due to their encryption setup. (technically you can, but you need Proton Bridge proxy)

[–] ritten@lemmy.world 2 points 22 hours ago

I'd highly suggest Proton/Tuta and transfer everything over to them. Google is a pain in the ass

[–] Deflated0ne@lemmy.world 2 points 22 hours ago

Mail.com. you can forward mail from other services to it. Yahoo, Gmail, etc.

[–] knobbysideup@sh.itjust.works 1 points 21 hours ago

I use nine still. Aquamail before that.